Eastern cruises to an easy victory over rival Southern
By: Evan Johnson
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RACINE, Ohio (WOUB) — A TVC-Hocking rivalry showdown took place in Racine. From tip-off until the final buzzer, the Eastern Eagles led. They got revenge on their rival the Southern Tornados 71-52, with three Eagles scoring 15 or more points.
In the final week of the boys’ high school basketball regular season, teams are looking to gain momentum heading into the tournament. Schools know their seedings and most conferences are already decided. But for Eastern and Southern that is far from the truth.
The rivalry dates back decades, and there is a long history of hate between the two schools. Every player, coach and fan preach that beating their rival twice in a season is a must.
“This is one of the games we circled on our calendars, we knew we were going to come in here to a hostile environment, and face a good, coached ball team.” said Eastern Head Coach Greg Lloyd.
The first matchup went into overtime with the Southern Tornados stealing a win in Reedsville. After winning the conference title, the Tornados looked to check off one more season goal, getting the sweep against Eastern.
The Eagles were not going to go down easily, starting the game in a full court press and jumping to an early 13-4 lead. Southern was flustered with the press, once getting past half court the Eagles swarmed them and forced several turnovers.
Junior Ethan Edwards capped off the quarter with an NBA range three at the buzzer to give Eastern a 22-8 lead.
The momentum continued for Eastern all the way to halftime. Gavin Murphy was a bully in the paint, grabbing eight rebounds at the half for. Even when Southern got the look they wanted, they could never capitalize. Eagles led 40-22 after two quarters.
The Tornados finally got some shots to fall in the third quarter bringing the lead within 11 points. After an extended stoppage of play, Eastern head coach Greg Lloyd drew up a set for Ethan Edwards, and he delivered draining the shot. Senior teammate Brady Rockhold followed it up with own three to extend the lead to 17.
Ending the quarter was some more Ethan Edwards magic, he heaved up a fade away shot from half court and cashed it for his second buzzer beater of the night.
“Nothing was open, I was feeling good in warm-ups. So, I just pulled it and they happened to go in thankfully” said Edwards.
The final quarter was more Eastern dominance, they cruised to victory, splitting the season series with Southern.
The win was not just important for the rivalry, but for the confidence the team gained going into the Sectional Semi-Finals.
Coach Lloyd talked about what has improved since the first match-up with Southern. “They have matured. Now they are slowing it down, making the defense work, working the clock.”
Both teams will play one more game before the tournament. Eastern will have another revenge game as they face Belpre on Monday.
Southern will look to get back on track before making a run in the tournament when they travel to face Peebles.